U.S. economic growth slowed in the second quarter, pulled down by a surge in imports needed to fuel the AI buildout and decreased government spending, even as consumer spending picked up sharply. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that GDP rose at a 1.5% annual rate in Q2, below economist expectations of 1.8% and down from 2.1% in Q1.
Consumer spending rose at a 3.2% pace in Q2, up sharply from 0.5% in Q1, with gains in both goods and services driven in part by tax cuts.
Data center construction relies heavily on imported semiconductor chips, and those imports count against GDP because the products are not made domestically.
Regular gasoline averaged $4.22 a gallon in Q2, up from under $3 before the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran in late February, eating into household wages.
The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate steady in a range of 3.5% to 3.75% on Wednesday, though three bank presidents dissented in favor of a quarter-point increase, a sign of growing tension over inflation.
Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh characterized the economy and labor market positively, noting strength in productivity and AI investment. "The economy is showing impressive resilience," he said.
Read more via The Wall Street Journal
Hiring intentions among U.S. employers have climbed to their highest point in at least a year, driven by persistent skills shortages and the need for specialized talent. The findings come from a Robert Half survey of more than 2,000 hiring managers conducted in April 2026.
Highlights from the report:
66% of hiring managers plan to increase permanent hiring in the second half of 2026, up from 60% in the first half and 57% a year ago.
56% also plan to bring on contract professionals to address skills gaps and support priority projects.
58% say finding qualified talent is more difficult than it was a year ago, with industry-specific knowledge, software proficiency, and leadership cited as the hardest skills to find.
63% report significant project delays due to talent shortages, and 48% say they have canceled projects outright because they lacked the necessary staff.
Technology, healthcare, and finance and accounting lead hiring demand by specialization; Denver, Minneapolis, and San Francisco lead by city.
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After more than a year of holding back on headcount, major U.S. employers are returning to the hiring market, with some reversing AI-driven layoffs that didn't deliver the expected results. The trend spans industries from technology to transportation to defense contracting.
Booz Allen Hamilton, which cut roughly 7.5% of its workforce after federal contract reductions, told investors it needs to "accelerate hiring a bit" to meet growing demand in national security.
CSX said train and engine headcount will increase modestly to meet higher demand.
Alphabet said it will continue hiring in AI and cloud. ServiceNow is recruiting more salespeople to capture growth in cybersecurity.
The reversal reflects a broader recalibration on what AI can and cannot replace.
Ford is reportedly reemploying hundreds of experienced engineers after automated systems couldn't handle quality issues.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia reversed layoffs of customer service staff after an AI voice bot increased rather than reduced call volume.
IBM replaced HR functions with AI that handled 94% of routine requests but stumbled on the remaining 6%, including ethical dilemmas, and subsequently announced plans to triple U.S. entry-level hiring in 2026.
According to Orgvue, 39% of business leaders made employees redundant due to AI, but among that group, 55% say wrong decisions about those redundancies were made. Robert Half data shows 32% of U.S. hiring managers eliminated a role primarily due to AI and later rehired for the same or a similar position.
AI is changing the workplace, but it's becoming clear that organizations are finding more value in building human-AI collaboration versus replacing human work entirely."
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The expiration of Temporary Protected Status work permits for roughly 350,000 Haitians is creating sudden, unplanned labor losses for employers in construction, hospitality, and long-term care, with little regulatory clarity about what comes next.
The Trump administration terminated TPS for Haitians and other groups as part of its broader immigration crackdown. After a Supreme Court ruling on June 25 allowed the terminations to proceed, lower courts have been issuing extensions in small increments, then stopping abruptly, leaving employers unable to plan.
Robert Dominguez, associate general counsel for HR consultancy Engage PEO, said the situation is "front of mind" for many businesses, particularly in industries that rely heavily on immigrant workers. Katie Smith Sloan, CEO of LeadingAge, which represents nonprofit long-term care homes, said her members have been on edge for months.
Read more via ABC News
The July 2026 National Association for Business Economics Business Conditions Survey finds improving sentiment among U.S. firms, with stronger investment intentions and receding recession fears, even as elevated costs continue to pressure margins.
Highlights from the July NABE survey:
46% of respondents anticipate higher sales over the next three months, up from 45% in May, while the share expecting a sales decline dropped sharply from 13% to 4%.
40% of firms raised prices in Q2 2026, the highest share since October 2024, up from 33% in May.
AI adoption is shifting from experimental to mainstream: 45% of respondents now report moderate AI use for specific functions or teams, up from 32% in May, and 22% report widespread use across multiple business functions, up from 16%.
45% of firms have adjusted their supply-chain strategies over the past two years, with cost efficiency, resilience, and risk management the most commonly cited priorities.
Read more via NABE
Monster's Q2 2026 Market Report finds healthcare continuing to dominate employer demand, with nursing occupations generating more job postings than any other profession.
Travel nursing demand is moderating as employers shift toward permanent placements, suggesting a move toward longer-term staffing stability.
Outside healthcare, the most-posted jobs include truck and delivery drivers, sales representatives, software and IT engineers, and warehouse and logistics workers.
The most-searched titles by job seekers, however, skew toward customer service representative, warehouse worker, administrative assistant, and data entry clerk, a mismatch that may create opportunity for job seekers willing to look at roles with stronger employer demand.
The largest hiring markets remain New York, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, and Dallas, but the fastest quarter-over-quarter growth in Q2 was concentrated in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Dayton, and Indianapolis.
Read more via Monster
The EEOC's Republican majority voted 2-1 to rescind the 60-year-old EEO-1 reporting requirement, which has required private employers with at least 100 employees to submit annual data on the race and gender of their workforce by job category.
The requirement has covered roughly 50 million employees and 73,000 employers. EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said the requirement may promote racial stereotyping and encourage discrimination.
Dissenting member Kalpana Kotagal said the elimination would "kneecap" the commission's ability to protect workers.
The EEOC says it may still demand workforce demographic data in the course of individual investigations.
Read more via Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
Canada: The Carney government announced a second major liquefied natural gas export deal with Europe, this one with German gas distributor Uniper for up to 2 million metric tons a year starting in 2032 from a Nisga'a Nation-led project in British Columbia. Canada now aims to sell 55% of its natural gas exports to non-U.S. customers by the mid-2030s, up from 0.01% in 2024. The deals are part of Prime Minister Mark Carney's effort to reduce economic dependence on the U.S. amid 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian exports. (The New York Times)
Germany: Business sentiment rose for a third straight month in July, with the Ifo Institute's business climate index climbing to 86.6 from 85.7 in June, better than economist expectations. All four major sectors tracked improved, though the index remains at a historically weak level following a sharp drop after the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war. Volkswagen said earlier this month it may cut an additional 50,000 jobs to reduce costs. (The Wall Street Journal)
Ireland: GDP rose 3.9% in the second quarter after contracting 7% in the first, driven by information and communications activity. Ireland hosts the international headquarters of several large U.S. technology companies, and its volatile GDP figures have an outsize effect on eurozone aggregates. The European Central Bank noted that digital services and AI-related activity have been particularly robust across the eurozone. (The Wall Street Journal)
Switzerland: The Swiss government rejected U.S. allegations of forced labor after the Trump administration imposed a new 12.5% tariff on Swiss imports, higher than the rate applied to EU neighbors. The tariffs replaced the temporary 10% global duties that expired Friday after the Supreme Court overturned most of the president's prior tariff measures. Swiss business groups called the forced labor allegations unjustified and said the higher rate creates a competitive disadvantage against EU and U.K. rivals in the U.S. market. (The Wall Street Journal)
Portugal: The unemployment rate held steady at 5.6% in June, below the 6% recorded in June 2025. Youth unemployment fell to 18.9% from 19.8% in May, also lower than the same month a year ago. (Investing.com)
Spain: Unemployment fell to 9.87% in the second quarter, its lowest level since 2008, as summer hiring added 486,000 jobs and lifted the total number of people in work to a record 22.8 million. Services drove most of the growth, with construction and industry also adding jobs. Nearly three-quarters of employees now hold permanent contracts, and full-time positions accounted for 405,400 of the 486,000 new jobs. (Euronews)
